What Gets Left Behind: Items, Ribbons & Friendship

Moving a Pokemon forward is not a perfect copy. Each method has its own fine print about what survives. Here is the practical summary collectors care about.

Held items

Almost every one-way migration strips the held item: Pal Park, Poke Transfer, and the Time Capsule all remove items before the move. Always take items off and store them in your bag first, or you will lose them.

Moves

Moves generally travel with the Pokemon, but a move that no longer exists or works differently in the destination game can be affected. The Time Capsule is the strictest: a Pokemon cannot pass into Gen I if it knows any move that did not exist in Gen I.

Ribbons, marks, and origins

Ribbons earned in older games are preserved and are a beloved way to prove a Pokemon's history. Modern transfers also stamp origin marks recording which game or service a Pokemon passed through - a GO Pokemon, for instance, carries a permanent GO mark.

Friendship and other counters

Some hidden values reset on transfer, and a few special cases (like certain event Pokemon) have their own quirks. The golden rule: strip held items, double-check legality for the destination, and expect the move to be permanent.